Tuesday, 19 November 2013

Literally the craziest week of my life, I’ve been so busy.
Edinburgh was AMAZING!!! It is such a beautiful city with so much culture and
so much life. Public service announcement: having 4 changes on a journey is
awful, never do it. I had one train from Notts to Newark Castle, had to switch
train stations and go to Newark Northgate, take a train to York, and then from
York take a train to Edinburgh. I can’t believe I made it there in the first
place, except for two very kind strangers who helped me out. I didn’t know the
way between the train stations, except that it was about a mile long walk, and
no one at the train station seemed to know directions, until some guy said that
he was walking that way, and so me and several other people followed him to
Newark Northgate. We chatted the entire way there—he’s doing his doctorate at
Notts and lives in York, and he was actually from Edinburgh! So he gave me tons
of tips and also showed me on my map the best way to get to my hostel. We
waited for our train together and talked the whole time. I never even found out
his name! But I never would have been able to find that train station in the
dark.

My train to York was late by over 10 minutes, and I only had
8 minutes between when my train arrived to York and when my train left for
Edinburgh. A very nice man waiting by the door of my train overheard my problem
and as we were getting close to York, told me that I was probably going to miss
my train to Edinburgh. He looked up the next train headed there (another train
would be going to Edinburgh in 20 minutes), and then as we were pulling into
the station he checked my train again for me. By some miracle, it was still there!
He gave me directions on how to get to my platform to catch my Edinburgh train,
and made sure I was the first one off the train. I literally sprinted when the
doors open and was only able to say a quick thank you, but I ran and I did
actually make my train. Scariest moment of my life! The kindness of strangers
is truly overwhelming.

I made it to Edinburgh and, after spending an hour of the
train ride memorizing my map, made it to my hostel alone and in the dark.
Couldn’t have been prouder of myself! My hostel was pretty nice, I was in a
6-bed dorm and my only complaint was that the beds were pretty creaky and loud,
so I felt bad when I got in late at night. But it was clean, the bathroom was
clean, and I felt very safe there, so I can’t say anything bad!

Saturday: I went to Edinburgh Castle first thing in the
morning (I was one of the first people in through the gate…) and since I paid
£16 to get in, I was there for over 3 hours. The castle is amazing! It’s so old
and so beautiful! It’s set up on this hill and you can look out over the city.
I saw the Royal Honours of Scotland, which are the oldest Crown Jewels in
Europe! I also saw the Royal Apartments, which was really exciting because
that’s where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to King James VI and I! The
Scottish National War Memorial was very touching and sad, the building it was
in was beautiful. There were services in the chapel until about 1:00, and since
I paid so much money, I was going to stay and see the oldest building in
Edinburgh! It was a tiny chapel, but beautiful. I’m glad I waited the extra
hour or so to see it. Every day at 1:00 they fire the One-O’Clock-Gun, so I
also got to see that!

View of Edinburgh Castle from the street below

After the Castle I wandered up and down around the Royal
Mile. I was cold (it was so windy up on the hill in the castle!) so I bought a
tartan scarf, and then I bought some shortbread (31% butter!) and ate the
entire package by myself. Fuck da police. It was so refreshing to have so much
time there, I didn’t feel rushed to do anything! Taking time to wander around
and explore on your own is the best feeling ever. I went to the Scotch Whisky
Experience, which was also pretty expensive but soooo cool. I only got to taste
one whisky on the tour, but I think it was worth it. You learn about how the
whisky is made, and then you get an explanation of each of the four regions
producing single malt scotch whisky—Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, and
Islay—and then based on what they smell like, you get to choose one to taste!
Then you go through this room and see this scotch whisky collection that
belonged to this Brazilian guy. It is unbelievable. I was in heaven. So much
whisky! It was an incredibly rare collection.

That night I went out to a pub with some people I met in my
hostel—a guy, Dan, from Colorado, and two Aussie girls. One of them was Madi
and none of us could remember the other girl’s name, even though she was so
nice and friendly. It was so cool meeting different people and hanging out with
strangers! Making friends and branching out and shit. It was awesome.
Definitely a great part of my weekend! Staying at hostels is seriously the way
to go when traveling. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Sunday: I basically went to this garage sale that took place
in a parking garage. It’s called the Omni Car Boot Sale, and seriously if you
go to Edinburgh you HAVE to do it!!! It was just like Bryn Mawr Garage Sales
(ahh! Heaven!) but it was in a level of a parking ramp. People just drive their
cars in and sell stuff. They had everything and anything there! I wish I could
have bought more, but I didn’t have a lot of money, and I also needed to carry
anything I brought back home with me in my small backpack. But anyone who goes
to Edinburgh! Sunday from 9:00-1:00! Don’t miss it!

I went to the Palace of Holyroodhouse afterwards, which was
amazing. Like Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, it’s a residence of the
Queen. It’s a beautiful place and full of history. I got to see Mary Queen of
Scots’ apartments, and the spot where her secretary, David Rizzio, was left to die
after being dragged out of a dinner with her and stabbed 56 times. They also
had a ton of amazing portraits—including one of Mary Boleyn!!!!! What?!?!? I
walked in and my immediate reaction was, “what is she doing here?!” It was
amazing! The ruins of the abbey were also beautiful, and unfortunately the
palace gardens are closed in the winter so I couldn’t see those.

Outside the Palace of Holyroodhouse

Arthur’s Seat was my next stop: 251m and it felt like I
climbed a fucking mountain. It was amazing though, walking through the hills
and seeing the views, it was just so Scottish. By the time I finally made it to
the top, I was sweating and panting, but it was so worth it. The views were out
of this world incredible, and, incredulously, the weather behaved itself and it
didn’t rain until I got all the way back down.

My walk up to Arthur's Seat

The view from the top!

I did some Harry Potter stalking
afterwards, seeing the café where J.K. Rowling wrote some of the early chapters
of HP and the commemorative plaque on the wall on the street corner. That night
I went out with people from my hostel again, Dan and Madi, to a pub that had
live music. It was so awesome! The band was good and super funny, trying to get
audience participation and cracking jokes.

Monday: More HP stalking! This time I went to this graveyard
where, thanks to a tip from Madi, J.K. Rowling got her inspiration for some of
the names in HP. After wandering and searching through this graveyard, I
successfully found the gravestones of “Thomas Riddell” as well as “his son,
Thomas Riddell” and a man named “William McGonagall.”

At the grave of "Thomas Riddell" !!!!!

After that I walked up
Calton Hill, which also had an amazing view—not as good as Arthur’s Seat, but
definitely worthwhile. Next stop: National Portrait Gallery!!! Obviously it
wasn’t as great as my true home in London, but they had a bunch of great
portraits of Mary Queen of Scots and various Stuarts, as well as focusing a lot
on James III “The Old Pretender” and Bonnie Prince Charlie “The Young
Pretender.” After that I pretty much wandered around looking for anything that
was free—I had just bought a nice bottle of scotch whisky (I can’t go to
Scotland and NOT buy scotch whisky!) so I was basically running out of money
and needed a few quid to be able to eat. Getting to the train station was just
fine, and then there were no problems with any of my trains on the way home. I
was tired (and sooo hungry considering I had barely eaten all weekend!) when I
got home, but it was so great to come back to the flat and feel at home.

This weekend was incredible—I felt so accomplished and
independent! It was my first time being on my own in a truly new city. I made
friends and spent time with strangers and couldn’t have been happier. I saw
some amazing historical places in Edinburgh and got in several decent walks. I
did so much and had enough time that I never felt rushed. Scotland is beautiful
and the people there are so friendly, have such unique accents, and are in love
with whisky. I couldn’t have asked for a more amazing and enlightening
experience.

Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Wow! This past week has been super busy and this upcoming
week is only going to be just as busy, if not busier. It was nice not having
classes for reading week, since it gave me a lot of extra time to work on a
paper that was due today. I really needed to get it done before the weekend
though, since I was in London and obviously not doing any homework.

It was definitely different going to London with our group,
as opposed to me just going by myself. But the good thing was, Bob really just
let us loose in the city and we could do whatever we wanted. Free hotel and
money for food! What could be better! Friday night we went to a play in the
West End, the Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. I really liked it, even though it
was kind of depressing. It’s a satirical play about Hitler and how his rise to
power could have been prevented, and the ending was really powerful.

Saturday I took Sarah on my official London tour!!! We had an
excellent time. We got up early and walked everywhere. It was tiring but
totally worth it! We walked past St. Pauls on our way to the Tower of London,
so she could see that. And then the added bonus of hanging out with me in
London: “Hey Sarah, want to go to Diagon Alley?” We were right by Leadenhall
Market, where they filmed Diagon Alley in Harry Potter, so I took her there
too. The Tower of London was, of course, amazing. Sarah took her homework
seriously and not only did she ace her quiz, she also got bonus points!!! We
were there super early, so before we went on our Yeoman Warder tour we were
able to wander around basically by ourselves. Our tour was probably my favorite
that I’ve had so far, he was hilarious and great and just all around awesome.

After that we did my Tower of London tour stuff, and then
walked across Tower Bridge to the south bank of the Thames. I made sure Sarah
saw Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and we stopped and got pizza at this great
place in Gabriel’s Wharf, the same place Sigrid and I ate at on my first ever
day in London! It was just as delicious as I remembered. Then we went across
Westminster Bridge, making sure to take pictures at my preferred place, and saw
Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Then it was up Whitehall and to
Trafalgar Square for the National Portrait Gallery! Back home. It was
wonderful.

Sarah and I basically decided that we’re going to live in
London together in a flat with our dogs. We’ll go on runs by the Thames
together but have our headphones in, and take our dogs on long walks to all the
parks. This weekend, more than ever, I really felt like I belonged in London. I
have a feeling I’ll end up there someday.

Saturday night our group had another play, the Potsdam
Quartet, in a smaller theatre near Piccadilly Circus. I really liked this show
too! It was about a quartet playing for the major players at Potsdam. There was
a Russian soldier whose only lines were in Russian, and I understood almost all
of what he said! Saturday night Kailey, Sarah, and I went to this great little
place called the Cider Tap. It’s super small, but the cider was excellent and
delicious and it was such a cool place!

Sunday I went to the British Museum. Holy shit, so many
asian tourists. And large tour groups. It got annoying. It was really cool to
just wander around and look at stuff, since I didn’t have anything in
particular I really wanted to see besides the Rosetta Stone. Peter met up with
me there, and it was great to see him once more before we head to Wales
together in a month! It was such a gorgeous day on Sunday that I decided I
couldn’t stay inside, so I walked to the Mall and Buckingham Palace. I had some
issues getting there, since I kept finding all these used bookstores on the
way. I would walk out of one, and then two stores down there would be another
one right there!!! It was amazing!!! They were all super cool, quintessential
used bookstores. Really small and cramped, tall ceilings with lots of shelves,
and semi-creepy basements that had even more books. It was only with great
restraint that I ended up buying just two books. That’s the amazing thing about
London! There’s so much to see and do off the beaten track of classic touristy
stuff. I’m so lucky I got to do that and I had time to explore.

I did finally make it to Buckingham Palace, and spent some
time in St. James’ Park. It was Remembrance Sunday, and I accidentally stumbled
upon a parade of veterans (I think) laying a wreath of poppies at the WWI
memorial. It was really touching and I bawled my eyes out, I don’t really know
why. Everyone here wears poppies (you can get them pretty much anywhere, just
by donating some change or something) and it was really emotional in a unifying
way to see so many people, especially in London.

St. James Park

Monday was super laid back, since I didn’t have too much to
do. Our train to Notts left at 3:15pm, so I didn’t want to try to do too much.
I went to the Museum of London, which was free and it was cool, but probably
not something I’d do again now that I’ve already seen it. Also there were a ton
of little kids on field trips and they were loud and obnoxious. Thanks to a tip
from Peter, I jipped Sainsburys out of 20p when I was buying rolls!!! At the
self-checkout, you say you’re buying a bakery item that is cheaper than what
you’re actually buying!!! Got rolls but said they were cheaper! Saved 20p!!!
Thug life! Fuck da police! After that, it was back to the train station, back
to Notts, and straight to my bed for a resting period.

This week is going to be even busier than next week: I
actually have classes this week, including Bob’s class tonight. Wednesday night
I have Russian lessons, Thursday I have a meeting for volunteering in the late
afternoon and then we’re seeing Richard III Thursday night. And then I’m headed
to Edinburgh on Friday for the weekend!!! I’ve got a lot to do, lots of
practicing and flashcards (Polish) and reading and preparing a seminar
presentation (Russian culture). I feel like I’m going to have literally zero
time this week, but hopefully I can make it through and head off to Edinburgh
without a lot of stress! I’m really excited to explore the city on my own—it’s
my first solo trip to a new city (I’ve been to London by myself, but
technically I had already been there before), so I’m a little nervous. But the
best part about traveling by yourself is that then you can do whatever you
want!!!

Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Today is Bonfire Day here in the UK! There have been
fireworks going off pretty much every night since Saturday, which has been lots
of fun (kind of annoying sometimes, but fun). Tonight, as per my custom, a
bunch of us are watching V for Vendetta and I will, of course, be giving a
brief historical overview of Guy Fawkes/the Gunpowder Plot beforehand. I have
no idea why I have friends. They are saints.

Last Saturday we (finally) didn’t have a flat trip, but I
was busy adventuring anyway! Bosworth Battlefield was my destination. On August
22nd 1485, Henry Tudor defeated Richard III to become Henry VII and
form the new Tudor dynasty. So obviously the battlefield is on my list and I
had to go. John came with me on my adventure and it was lots of fun but super
exhausting.

First off, we woke up at 5:45am to get to the bus station
and catch our 7:00am bus to Leicester. After an hour-long bus ride (John fell
asleep), we got to Leicester and then sat at the bus station and waited for bus
#153 to Market Bosworth. After another hour-long bus ride, we got off in the
small village of Market Bosworth, which is a 3-mile walk from the battlefield.
The area we were in was so pretty—classic English countryside, rolling hills,
sheep, green pastures, everything. It was a nice bus ride! (John fell asleep
again.)

It was kind of confusing getting from the village onto the
road that would get us to the battlefield—we got lost and had to ask for
directions. We were trying to follow some signs that had swords on them (we
hoped it meant battlefield) but they were meant for cars, not for people
walking… the very nice man we asked directions from told us where to go and
wished us good luck, and said “hope the weather stays fine for you!” Because
obviously “fine” weather means cloudy, gray, misting rain, and freezing. It was
way colder than either of us thought it would be (or we thought it would warm
up, which it never did), and John had brought one hat that we shared between us.
Our walk to the battlefield, once we got on the right road, was scenic and
great and so much more rewarding than taking a car could ever be! Good ol’
Shenton Lane went almost all the way there.

We did finally make it to the battlefield! The reason we got
up so early was because I wanted to do the guided tour at 11:00, and I’m so
glad we did it. The entire journey was worth it just for the tour, I got so
much more information than I would have had I gone without a tour! Our tour
guide explained a lot about the battle itself: who was fighting, where they
were coming from, and how they all met at this spot of the battlefield. A
couple years ago they found some cannon balls and a boar badge (the white boar
was Richard III’s symbol, and this badge was worn only by his personal guard)
in an area that they’ve now basically determined was the final phase of the
battle. It was really cool to learn about the different commanders of the
battle, besides just the main opponents. During the tour, our tour guide had banners
with the coat of arms for each of the major players. Me and some 8-year old
kids got to carry them on the tour :)

The Tudor banner!

It started raining right at the end of our tour, so we went
into the battlefield exhibition. The exhibition was nice and informative, but
the tour was so much better. It started pouring like no other and so we waited
it out for a bit in the restaurant there. Finally it let up and there was a
beautiful rainbow—it was literally the best reward ever for our adventure.

After that, it was nice and sunny for our 3-mile walk back
(no need to share our one hat), and we celebrated our reward with a pint at the
pub in Market Bosworth. Market Bosworth is just such a quaint, stereotypical
English village, and I loved it. We also got some half-price ice cream bars
which was awesome. After that, it was another hour-long bus ride to Leicester
(John fell asleep), half an hour wait in the bus station, and then another bus
ride back to Notts (John fell asleep again). We were literally starving by the
time we got home (walked 7+ miles!), and we got off the bus and legit ran to
the flat and stormed the kitchen.

It was another successful adventure and I just loved it!
Going on day trips like that, adventuring in the country is so nerve-wracking
and can be a little intimidating, especially this time when we had different
buses we needed to catch. But it is so rewarding! When I got to the battlefield
I just felt so accomplished, and by the time I got back to the flat I felt even
more accomplished. It was fantastic. Going on random journeys like this just
makes me love England. It is an amazing place.

Shout out to the British transportation system—my trip to
Bosworth could never have happened in the U.S. There just isn’t this kind of
infrastructure at home to make it all possible. Buses and trains make getting
around so easy! It’s amazing.

This week is going to be another super busy one. We have a
“reading week” this week at uni, so I don’t have either of my classes. I have a
paper due next week though, and a project I need to start working on. This
weekend our group is headed to London—we’ll be seeing plays on both Friday and
Saturday night, but basically the rest of our time should be free time and we
can do what we want. But first I need to have a productive next couple of days
beforehand!

Friday, 1 November 2013

Last weekend we had a group trip to Kenilworth Castle and
Coventry. Both of them were on my list of places to go to!!! I’m so lucky. Bob
just seems to keep picking trips to places I want to go! Free trips what what?!

Kenilworth Castle was great—it was this beautiful castle,
dating back to the 1100s that was used through the years by the Normans, John
of Gaunt, Henry V, and finally Robert Dudley. Obviously this last one was the
main reason I wanted to go here. Robert Dudley made elaborate (and very
expensive) improvements to the castle, including a beautiful garden, in order
to try to finally win Elizabeth I over and convince her to marry him. She
visited in 1575 for nineteen days and it was basically Dudley’s last attempt to
marry her. She (as we all know) never did marry, and Dudley then married
Lettice Knollys (who actually was related to Elizabeth). It’s such a sad and
romantic story and being there was great.

Kenilworth Castle ruins

The castle is in ruins now (they blew it up in the Civil
War) but it was still awesome! They have a recreation of the Elizabethan
Garden, looking exactly like it would have when Elizabeth visited. I wish we
had had more time, or that I had been on my own, because there were a lot of
walking paths that I would have liked to explore—the area is beautiful. After
that, we got back on the bus and went to Coventry, which was pretty close by.

The main reason I wanted to go to Coventry was because of
the cathedral. During WWII, Coventry was heavily damaged by the Germans and
basically just devastated. During the Blitz, November 14 1940, the city was so
heavily bombed that the cathedral collapsed and was essentially destroyed. The
Germans coined a new word, coventrieren,
which meant to flatten. Ouch. To me, Coventry has always been one of those
symbols of British resilience and strength. Especially during WWII, when
Britain stood alone. Something about that kind of strength never fails to make
me cry. It was amazing.

The ruins of the old cathedral are so stunning and beautiful
and sad. Apparently after the bombing, someone saw that two charred beams had
fallen down into the shape of a cross—the Charred Cross is on display inside
the new cathedral, and there is a replica still in the ruins. The whole story
of the cathedral is just so touching. The new cathedral was finished in the
1960s, with a beautiful stained glass window and huge tapestry. Countries from
all over seemed to help and give materials to Coventry for the
cathedral—Sweden, Norway, Canada, Germany, France. It was beautiful to think of
how this building helped unite people. It was just beautiful. I’m so glad I
finally got to go here! Maybe I did a really bad job of explaining it. But it
was just really emotional.

Inside the ruins of the old Coventry cathedral

Not much else is exciting. I live in England and that’s
cool. Classes are good but hard. I’m really enjoying both of them though! I’ve
been going to Russian lessons every week, which are hard but I can tell it’s
really good practice, and it gets a little better every time. Hopefully if I’m
speaking it regularly I won’t forget everything! Tomorrow I’m going on an
adventure to Bosworth Battlefield. We’ll see if I make it there, it will be a
journey. I have one more week (but since I have a reading/project week for my
two classes, I won’t actually have class) and then we’re going on our group
trip to London! November is going to be a very very busy month!